Preaching to myself!
Most pastors wear many
different hats. On most weeks the
average pastor visits church members, communicates with visitors, speaks with
missionaries, counsels those with needs, disciples a few men, prays with those
who are hurting, meets with church lay leaders, marries or buries, leads staff
meetings, participates in community events, administrates a tight budget and
resolves conflicts. I could mention a
myriad of other responsibilities, but you get the picture. A pastor has much to do.
In the midst of all of those
pastoral tasks, though, the pastor also must prepare and deliver several
sermons each week. Now, if the pastor is
not careful, it is very easy to put personal study and sermon preparation on
the back burner. After all, there are
congregational needs that must be met. Right?
I am afraid that many pastors, this one included, often allow the
demands of the pastoral schedule to keep us from adequately feeding the flock
of God.
Pastors, we must realize the
extreme importance of giving ourselves adequate time to pray, study and prepare
to feed our people. The reality, though,
is that I do not study and prepare just for the benefit of my congregation. No, sermon preparation helps me. My preaching must speak to me. God first must change me before He can use
the message to change others.
Here are four personal
benefits that I receive from studying for my sermons each week.
1. Teaching
Scripture keeps me learning
An outsider would think that
after four years of Bible College and four years of Seminary that I would have pretty
much exhausted all there is to know about God and the Bible. That simply is not the case. The more that I learn about God, the more I
realize how much I need to learn.
Proverbs 1:5 says “a wise man will hear and increase learning.”
As pastors and leaders, not
only should we be expanding our minds theologically, but we should also be
reading and learning about leadership, administration, social issues, and
relationship dynamics. There is so much
to read and so much to learn. In I
Timothy 4:13 Paul challenged Timothy to “give attention to reading, to
exhortation, to doctrine.” If you
struggle with what to read, here are a few links with recommended lists for
pastors and leaders…
2. Teaching Scripture
makes me examine myself
Personal Bible study must
first be self-convicting before it can become transformational preaching. John Maxwell calls this the “Mirror
Principle.” What is the Scripture
teaching you? Paul told Timothy in I
Timothy 4:16 to “keep a close watch on
how you live and your teaching. Stay
true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of
those who hear you.”
3. Teaching
Scripture stretches me spiritually
Not only must I be willing to
examine myself in the light of the verses I am teaching, but I also must be
willing to do what the say. I must be
the first to obey them. How
hypocritical it is for us to teach and not practice, for us to exhort and not
execute. As the preacher, I must be the
first to put the challenge of the text into practice in my life.
As a result, God has stretched
me. I have become a more generous
giver. God is teaching me to be more
gracious and forgiving. I must be a man
of prayer and a man of faith. Yes, my
preaching of God’s Word is stretching me spiritually and I am so excited about
what God is doing in my life!
4. Teaching
Scripture keeps me dependent on God
The more I preach, the more I
realize that I need God. Exhaustive
preparation can never take the place of God’s power. I am learning that I am not witty enough,
smart enough, or eloquent enough to accomplish life change. Only God can do that! Jesus said it this way in John 15:5 – “For apart from Me you can do
nothing.” That pretty much wraps it
up. I must be dependent on Him.
So, whether you are a
full-time pastor or a part-time preacher, whether you have preached for years
or whether you are just beginning, learn to preach to yourself first. Preaching that changes lives changes the
preacher’s life first. Be assured that
as God changes you, he will change others also.
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